Afghanistan vs China
China is 14.7 times larger than Afghanistan. Afghanistan would fit into China about 15 times.
AfghanistanChinaAfghanistan moved onto China · Equal-area projection
0.07×
Afghanistan is 0.07× the area of China. Put the other way, China is 14.7× the size of Afghanistan.
 Afghanistan |  China | |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| AreaChina: 14.7× the area | 652,230 km²#40 of 194 | 9,596,961 km²#4 of 194 |
| Coastline | Landlocked | Has a coast |
| Land neighbours | 6 | 16 |
| People | ||
| PopulationChina: 32.1× the population | 43,844,111#36 of 194 · 2025 | 1,406,585,000#2 of 194 · 2025 |
| DensityChina: 2.18× the density | 67 / km²#119 of 194 | 147 / km²#62 of 194 |
| Urban populationChina: 2.56× the urban share | 26%#179 of 192 · 2025 | 66%#84 of 192 · 2025 |
| Fertility rateAfghanistan: 4.71× the births per woman | 4.76 per woman#9 of 192 · 2024 | 1.01 per woman#188 of 192 · 2024 |
| Population growthAfghanistan: 2.94 points higher | +2.77%#19 of 192 · 2025 | −0.17%#169 of 192 · 2025 |
| Birth rateAfghanistan: 5.15× the birth rate | 35.0 per 1,000#9 of 192 · 2024 | 6.8 per 1,000#184 of 192 · 2024 |
| Death rateChina: 1.37× the death rate | 5.7 per 1,000#148 of 192 · 2024 | 7.8 per 1,000#76 of 192 · 2024 |
| Children under 15Afghanistan: 27.2 points higher | 42.6%#11 of 192 · 2025 | 15.4%#158 of 192 · 2025 |
| People over 65China: 12.5 points higher | 2.4%#185 of 192 · 2025 | 14.9%#55 of 192 · 2025 |
| Net migrationChina: 1.5 per 1,000 higher | −1.7 per 1,000#132 of 192 · 2025 | −0.2 per 1,000#84 of 192 · 2025 |
| Refugees abroadAfghanistan: 554× the refugees for its size | 60.93 per 1,000#6 of 190 · 2025 | 0.11 per 1,000#116 of 190 · 2025 |
| Health & education | ||
| Life expectancyChina: 11.7 years longer | 66.3 years#158 of 192 · 2024 | 78.0 years#53 of 192 · 2024 |
| Infant mortalityAfghanistan: 11.8× the infant mortality | 48.3 per 1,000 births#13 of 191 · 2024 | 4.1 per 1,000 births#150 of 191 · 2024 |
| DoctorsChina: 9.72× the doctors per person | 0.32 per 1,000#136 of 178 · 2023 | 3.11 per 1,000#56 of 178 · 2022 |
| University enrolmentChina: 7.06× the university enrolment | 10.9%#128 of 145 · 2020 | 76.9%#33 of 145 · 2024 |
| Human Development IndexChina: 0.301 higher | 0.496#178 of 190 · 2023 | 0.797#77 of 190 · 2023 |
| Economy | ||
| GNI per capitaChina: 36.5× the income per person | $390#184 of 185 · 2024 | $14,230#65 of 185 · 2025 |
| GDPChina: 1,097× the economy | $17.78B2024 | $19.5T2025 |
| Income group | Low income | Upper-middle income |
| GDP per capita (PPP)China: 13.1× the output per person | $2,236#174 of 184 · 2024 | $29,333#69 of 184 · 2025 |
| GDP growthChina: 3.1 points higher | +1.9%#134 of 187 · 2024 | +5.0%#45 of 187 · 2025 |
| InflationChina: 6.7 points higher | −6.6%#176 of 176 · 2024 | +0.1%#161 of 176 · 2025 |
| UnemploymentAfghanistan: 2.91× the unemployment | 13.4%#20 of 178 · 2025 | 4.6%#102 of 178 · 2025 |
| Extreme poverty | — | 0.0%#136 of 149 · 2022 |
| Income inequality (Gini) | — | 36.0#63 of 149 · 2022 |
| Jobs in agricultureAfghanistan: 29.9 points higher | 51.6% of jobs#23 of 178 · 2025 | 21.7% of jobs#81 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in industryChina: 12.9 points higher | 18.9% of jobs#90 of 178 · 2025 | 31.8% of jobs#13 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in servicesChina: 17.0 points higher | 29.5% of jobs#165 of 178 · 2025 | 46.5% of jobs#132 of 178 · 2025 |
| Foreign investmentChina: 0.3 points higher | 0.1% of GDP#158 of 184 · 2021 | 0.4% of GDP#150 of 184 · 2025 |
| ExportsChina: 5.4 points higher | 15.7% of GDP#146 of 168 · 2024 | 21.1% of GDP#132 of 168 · 2025 |
| Military spendingAfghanistan: 1.06× the military spending | 1.8% of GDP#75 of 155 · 2021 | 1.7% of GDP#77 of 155 · 2025 |
| Internet usersChina: 5.69× the share online | 16%#178 of 184 · 2024 | 92%#46 of 184 · 2025 |
| Mobile subscriptionsChina: 2.2× the mobile subscriptions | 60 per 100#176 of 191 · 2024 | 132 per 100#49 of 191 · 2024 |
| Energy & environment | ||
| Forest areaChina: 12.6× the forest share | 2% of land#172 of 192 · 2024 | 24% of land#112 of 192 · 2024 |
| CO₂ per personChina: 33.3× the CO₂ per person | 0.28 t a year#164 of 185 · 2024 | 9.32 t a year#19 of 185 · 2024 |
| Renewable energyAfghanistan: 4.8 points higher | 20.0%#107 of 190 · 2022 | 15.2%#121 of 190 · 2021 |
| Access to electricityChina: 12.2 points higher | 87.8%#143 of 192 · 2024 | 100.0%#1 of 192 · 2024 |
| Air pollution (PM2.5)Afghanistan: 1.18× the air pollution | 37.9 µg/m³#26 of 191 · 2023 | 32.0 µg/m³#43 of 191 · 2023 |
| Protected landChina: 12.0 points higher | 3.6% of land#174 of 191 · 2025 | 15.6% of land#111 of 191 · 2025 |
| Arable landAfghanistan: 0.4 points higher | 12.0% of land#84 of 190 · 2024 | 11.6% of land#86 of 190 · 2024 |
| Water stressAfghanistan: 1.32× the water stress | 54.8%#33 of 176 · 2022 | 41.5%#43 of 176 · 2022 |
| PrecipitationChina: 1.97× the rain and snow | 327 mm#152 of 180 · 2022 | 645 mm#122 of 180 · 2022 |
| Governance & safety | ||
| Political stabilityChina: 2.06 higher | −2.04#186 of 193 · 2025 | +0.02#103 of 193 · 2025 |
| Control of corruptionChina: 1.38 higher | −1.31#173 of 193 · 2025 | +0.07#79 of 193 · 2025 |
| Homicide rateAfghanistan: 8.0× the homicide rate | 4.0 per 100,000#57 of 146 · 2021 | 0.5 per 100,000#137 of 146 · 2020 |
| State | ||
| Status | Independent state | Independent state |
| Government | Theocracytheocratic; the United States does not recognize the Taliban Government | One-party statecommunist party-led state |
| Member of | — | G20, BRICS |
| Capital | Kabul | Beijing |
| Currency | Afghani (AFN) | Chinese yuan (renminbi) (CNY) |
| Official languages | Arabic, Pashto, Uzbek, Turkmen, Dari, Balochi, Nuristani, Pamir, Pashayi | Standard Chinese |
| Traffic drives | On the right | On the right |
| Time zone | UTC+4:30 | UTC+8 · UTC+6 to UTC+8, 2 time zones |
| Calling code | +93 | +86 |
| Region | Southern Asia, Asia | Eastern Asia, Asia |
Area: Wikidata. Population, income, health, economy, environment and governance: World Bank. Human Development Index: UNDP. Government: CIA World Factbook. Ranks among the 194 independent states. All sources
Why the map you grew up with disagrees
On a Mercator map, area grows with distance from the equator. Afghanistan sits at about 34° N and is stretched to 1.45× its true area; China at 37° N is stretched to 1.56×. Here the two are distorted about the same amount, so Mercator gets this pair roughly right. The figure above uses the Equal Earth projection, where every square kilometre is drawn the same size.
Questions about this pair
- Is Afghanistan bigger than China?
- No. Afghanistan is 14.7 times smaller than China. Afghanistan covers 652,230 km² and China covers 9,596,961 km².
- How many times does Afghanistan fit into China?
- About 15 times: China has 14.7× the area of Afghanistan.
- Why do Afghanistan and China look different on Google Maps?
- Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Afghanistan is drawn about 1.45× its true area there and China about 1.56×. For this pair the distortion is similar, so Mercator gets the comparison roughly right. Kartavera uses Equal Earth, where every square kilometre is drawn the same size.
- Which has more people, Afghanistan or China?
- China: 1,406,585,000 people against 43,844,111. Density: Afghanistan 67 per km², China 147 per km².
- Which is richer, Afghanistan or China?
- By gross national income per person, China: $14,230 against $390 (World Bank, Atlas method, 2024) — 36.5× as much.
- Where do people live longer, Afghanistan or China?
- In China: life expectancy at birth is 78.0 years, against 66.3 — 11.7 years longer (World Bank, 2024).
- What kind of government do Afghanistan and China have?
- By constitution, as the CIA World Factbook describes them — Afghanistan: theocracy; China: one-party state.